Ethan Slater
Slater in 2020
Born
Ethan Samuel Slater

(1992-06-02) June 2, 1992 (age 31)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Alma materVassar College (BA)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
  • writer
  • composer
Years active2012–present
Spouse
Lilly Jay
​
​
(m. 2018, sep. 2023)​
Children1
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Websitewww.ethanslater.com

Ethan Samuel Slater (born June 2, 1992) is an American actor, singer, writer, and composer known for his role as SpongeBob SquarePants in the musical of the same name, for which he received a Tony Award nomination and won a Drama Desk Award in 2018.[1] During his career he has also acted in musicals directed by Kathleen Marshall, Barry Levinson, John Tartaglia, Bartlett Sher, and John Doyle.

He is currently playing the Historian, Prince Herbert, and others in the Broadway revival of Spamalot at the St. James Theatre.[2][3]

Early life and career

Ethan Samuel Slater was born on June 2, 1992, in Washington, D.C. He is the third child of Jay Slater, an employee at the Food and Drug Administration, and is of Jewish descent.[4][5] After attending Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, his family moved to Silver Spring, Maryland.[6][7][8] Slater's mother died when he was seven, which he describes as a "really big, formative thing in my life. She had left this huge imprint on me, even though I had so few memories."[9] He graduated from Georgetown Day School in Washington, DC, and studied drama at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. During his time in college, he auditioned to apprentice at a Shakespeare workshop, which then got him an audition in front of director Tina Landau.[10] Slater graduated from Vassar with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Drama in 2014.[11]

His first theater appearance was at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in July 2015, in which he starred as Luis in the musical Claudio Quest, directed by John Tartaglia,[12] earning a nomination for the festival's award in the category for Best Individual Performance.[13] Between September 30 and October 24, 2015, he starred in Please excuse my dear aunt Sally in the One Year Lease Theater Company.[14] In December 2015 he joined the Delaware Theatre Company in Wilmington, acting in Barry Levinson's play Diner, directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall.[15] During the same period he appeared in several short films, including Lightning Bugs in a Jar and Evol.

In 2016 Slater was cast in the lead role SpongeBob SquarePants in Kyle Jarrow's musical of the same name directed by Tina Landau at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago.[16] The musical achieved success and was praised by theater critics, bringing the production to Broadway at the Palace Theatre in New York between 2017 and 2018.[17][18] For his performance, Slater earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical in 2018, winning in the respective category at the Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award. He is also awarded the Theatre World Award for Best Performance in a Broadway Debut in 2018.[19]

Between 2018 and 2019 he appeared in a few episodes of television series, including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Murphy Brown, Instinct and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. On March 4, 2019, Slater was cast by director Bartlett Sher in the theatrical special of Camelot at the Lincoln Center Theater in New York.[20] Between 2021 and 2022 he starred in the musical Assassins with the direction of John Doyle at the Lynn F. Angelson Theater in New York, playing Lee Harvey Oswald.[21] His performance earned him a Lucille Lortel Awards nomination for Best Performance.[22] From March to April 2022, Slater originated the role of Max Weinbaum in the play Good Night, Oscar at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.[23]

In 2022 it was announced that he will play Boq in the two-part film adaptation of the musical Wicked, directed by Jon M. Chu.[24]

Personal life

In 2012, Slater began dating[25] his former high school sweetheart Lilly Jay.[26] They married in 2018, and their son was born in 2022.[27] In 2023, Slater filed for divorce from Jay, following reports that he had begun dating Ariana Grande.[28]

Works

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2015 Lightning Bugs in a Jar Ben
2016 EVOL: Theory of Love Ronny Goldstein
2021 The Man Behind the Camera Gerald
2022 Intervenors Miles Writer and composer
2024 Wicked: Part One Boq Filming [29]
2025 Wicked: Part Two
TBA Lost on A Mountain in Maine[30] Henry Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2018 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Riley Porter Episode: "Revenge"
Murphy Brown Officer Reynolds Episode: "Thanksgiving and Taking"
2019 Fosse/Verdon Joel Grey Episode: "Me and My Baby" [31]
Instinct Noah Episode:"After Hours" [31]
SpongeBob SquarePants Himself Episode: "SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout"
The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage! SpongeBob SquarePants Television adaptation of The SpongeBob Musical [32]
2023 The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Steven Episode: "Susan"

Web

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2015 Redheads Anonymous Sam [25]
New Mayor of New York Nathan

Theatre

Year Production Role Venue Category Ref.
2015 Diner Modell Delaware Theatre Company Regional [15]
Claudio Quest Luis NYMF [13]
Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally Cast One Year Lease Theatre Company (59E59 Theatres) Off-Off-Broadway [33][34]
2016 The SpongeBob Musical SpongeBob SquarePants Oriental Theatre Regional [16]
2017 Baghdaddy Jerry Samuel St. Luke's Theatre Off-Broadway [35]
2017–18 SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical SpongeBob SquarePants Palace Theatre Broadway [36]
2019 Camelot Mordred Lincoln Center Theater [37]
2021–22 Assassins The Balladeer / Lee Harvey Oswald Classic Stage Company Off-Broadway [38]
2022 Good Night, Oscar Max Weinbaum Goodman Theatre Regional [39]
2023-24 Spamalot Prince Herbert / The Historian St. James Theatre Broadway [40]

Discography

Cast recordings

Release Date Title Type Label Ref.
September 22, 2017 SpongeBob SquarePants, The New Musical Original Cast Recording Masterworks Broadway
September 28, 2018 Who's Your Baghdaddy, or How I started the Iraq War Broadway Records
August 6, 2021 Edge of the World Concept Album [41]
March 18, 2022 Assassins 2022 Cast Recording [42]

Solo recordings

Release Date Title Notes Ref.
February 5, 2019 Richmond Rewrites Single [43]
July 11, 2019 Wanderer EP
July 21, 2020 Life Is Weird EP [44]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2015 NYMF Award Outstanding Individual Performance Claudio Quest Nominated [45]
2018 Tony Award Best Actor in a Musical SpongeBob SquarePants Nominated [46]
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Musical Won [47]
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Actor in a Musical Won [48]
Broadway.com Audience Awards Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Male) Won [49]
Favorite Leading Actor in a Musical Won
Theatre World Award Honoree [50]
2022 Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical Assassins Nominated [51]

References

  1. ^ Haun, Harry (December 25, 2017). "Ethan Slater on How He Prepares Each Night to Be 'SpongeBob' on Broadway". Observer. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  2. ^ D'Zurilla, Christie (July 21, 2023). "Who is Ethan Slater? 5 things you need to know about Ariana Grande's new squeeze". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  3. ^ Cuccinello, Hayley C. (April 30, 2018). "Tony-Nominated Broadway Star Ethan Slater On Making 'SpongeBob SquarePants' His Own". Forbes. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  4. ^ Marks, Peter (June 26, 2018). "He absorbed all her high school drama expertise. And now he's SpongeBob". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  5. ^ Jackson, Dory (April 16, 2018). "Ethan Slater Talks About Playing SpongeBob SquarePants on Broadway". Newsweek. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  6. ^ Dayanim, Avital (July 21, 2023). "18 Things to Know About Jewish Actor and Singer Ethan Slater". Hey Alma. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  7. ^ Schleier, Curt (July 22, 2023). "The happy-go-lucky 25-year-old Jewish guy who plays SpongeBob on Broadway". The Times of Israel. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  8. ^ Tietjen, Alexa (December 22, 2017). "Ethan Slater Is SpongeBob SquarePants". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  9. ^ "Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Ethan Slater". Pop Culturalist. August 26, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  10. ^ Bailey, Alyssa (July 20, 2023). "All About Ethan Slater, Ariana Grande's New Boyfriend and 'Wicked' Co-Star". Elle. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  11. ^ Barry, John W. "'SpongeBob,' 'Junk' and Tony nominations showcase Vassar College". Poughkeepsie Journal. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  12. ^ Collins-Hughes, Laura (July 13, 2017). "At New York Musical Theater Festival, a Video Game Sendup, Gospel Music and More". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  13. ^ a b Collins-Hughes, Laura (July 13, 2015). "At New York Musical Theater Festival, a Video Game Sendup, Gospel Music and More". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  14. ^ "Archived Show: Please excuse my dear aunt sally". 59e59 Theater. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  15. ^ a b Marks, Peter (December 12, 2015). "'Diner': Improved, but it still needs more oomph". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  16. ^ a b Oxman, Steven (June 20, 2016). "Pre-Broadway Review: 'The SpongeBob Musical'". Variety. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  17. ^ Haun, Harry (December 25, 2018). "Ethan Slater on How He Prepares Each Night to Be 'SpongeBob' on Broadway". The Observer. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  18. ^ Evans, Greg (June 7, 2018). "Sponge-Worthy: Ethan Slater Soaks Up Broadway Success – Tony Awards Watch". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  19. ^ Gans, Andrew (May 8, 2018). "Noma Dumezweni, Hailey Kilgore, and Ethan Slater Among 2018 Theatre World Award Honorees". Playbill. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  20. ^ Paulson, Michael (January 31, 2019). "Lin-Manuel Miranda to Lead One-Night 'Camelot' Benefit Concert". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  21. ^ Collins-Hughes, Laura (November 14, 2021). "Review: This Revival of Sondheim's 'Assassins' Misses Its Mark". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  22. ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (April 7, 2022). "2022 Lucille Lortel Awards: See the Complete List of Nominees". Playbill. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  23. ^ Hall, Margaret (March 21, 2022). "Opening March 21, Goodman Theatre's "Good Night, Oscar" Extends Rubn". Playbill. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  24. ^ Jackson, Angelique (December 7, 2022). "'Wicked' Movie Casts Ethan Slater Opposite Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  25. ^ a b Deb, Sopan (November 22, 2017). "He Knows Bikini Bottom. Now He Gets to Swim There". The New York Times. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  26. ^ Engel, Margaret (April 2, 2018). "Showstopper". Bethesda Magazine. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  27. ^ Juneau, June (July 27, 2023). "Ethan Slater's Ex Breaks Silence About His Romance with Ariana Grande: 'My Family' Is 'Collateral Damage'". People. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  28. ^ Clack, Erin (July 27, 2023). "Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater Are 'Full-On Dating' After Being 'Sweet' with Each Other on Set: Source (Exclusive)". People. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  29. ^ "Wicked". Variety. December 7, 2022.
  30. ^ "Lost on a Mountain in Maine". IMDb.
  31. ^ a b Aniftos, Rania (July 20, 2023). "Who Is Ethan Slater? 5 Things to Know About the Actor". Billboard. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  32. ^ Clement, Olivia (December 13, 2019). "How Did The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage! Fare in the Ratings?". Playbill. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  33. ^ "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally". One Year Lease Theater Company. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  34. ^ Collins-Hughes, Laura (October 6, 2015). "Review: 'Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally,' a Phone's Tale". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  35. ^ Clement, Olivia (March 31, 2017). "Spongebob's Ethan Slater Joins Cast of Baghdaddy". Playbill. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  36. ^ Brantley, Ben (December 5, 2018). "Review: 'SpongeBob SquarePants,' a Watery Wonderland on Broadway". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  37. ^ Paulson, Michael (January 31, 2019). "Lin-Manuel Miranda to Lead One-Night 'Camelot' Benefit Concert". The New York Times.
  38. ^ McPhee, Ryan (January 13, 2020). "Tony Nominee Ethan Slater Joins Off-Broadway Assassins Revival". Playbill. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  39. ^ Cristi, A.A. (February 18, 2022). "Sean Hayes, Ethan Slater and More Prep for GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR at Goodman Theatre". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  40. ^ White, Abbey (August 9, 2023). "Michael Urie, Ethan Slater Among Cast of Broadway's 'Spamalot' Revival". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  41. ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (July 20, 2021). "Lilli Cooper, Ethan Slater, Nick Blaemire, More Star on Concept Recording of Edge of the World". Playbill. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  42. ^ Harms, Talaura (March 18, 2022). "Assassins Off-Broadway Cast Recording Drops Digitally March 18". Playbill. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  43. ^ Hetrick, Adam (February 6, 2019). "SpongeBob SquarePants Tony Nominee Ethan Slater Releases New Single 'Richmond Rewrites'". Playbill. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  44. ^ Fierberg, Ruthie (July 21, 2020). "Tony Nominee Ethan Slater Releases New EP Life Is Weird". Playbill. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  45. ^ Viagas, Robert (July 28, 2015). "Check Out the Winners of the 2015 New York Musical Theatre Festival Awards". Playbill. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  46. ^ Evans, Suzy (May 29, 2018). "Tonys 2018: Ethan Slater on Humanizing 'SpongeBob SquarePants' for the Stage". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  47. ^ Fierberg, Ruthie (June 4, 2018). "Nathan Lane, Tina Landau, Ethan Slater and More React to Their 2018 Drama Desk Wins". Playbill. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  48. ^ McPhee, Ryan (May 7, 2018). "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, My Fair Lady Win Big at 2018 Outer Critics Circle Awards". Playbill. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  49. ^ "Mean Girls Leads Broadway.com Audience Choice Award Winners; Ethan Slater, Hailey Kilgore Also Take Top Prizes". Broadway.com. May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  50. ^ Evans, Greg (May 8, 2018). "'Harry Potter & The Cursed Child', 'Angels In America' Broadway Newcomers Among 2018 Theatre World Honorees". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  51. ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (April 7, 2022). "2022 Lucille Lortel Awards: See the Complete List of Nomiees". Playbill. Retrieved April 7, 2022.

External links

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Authority control databases
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